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Douglas B-66 Destroyer
Operational History

Deliveries to the USAF began in 1956, and 145 of this model were produced. They were used as the major night photo-reconnaissance aircraft of the USAF during this period.

Meanwhile, 72 of the B-66B bomber version were built, 69 fewer than originally planned. Thirteen B-66B aircraft were modified into EB-66B electronic countermeasures aircraft for the Vietnam War. Unlike the A-3 which performed some bombing missions, the Destroyer was not used as a bomber in Vietnam.

The RB-66C was a specialized electronic reconnaissance and ECM aircraft with a crew of seven; 36 were built. The additional crewmembers occupied what was the camera/bomb bay of other variants. RB-66C aircraft had distinctive wingtip pods. They were used over Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and later over Vietnam. In 1966, they were redesignated EB-66C.

The final B-66 variant was the WB-66D weather reconnaissance aircraft, 36 of which were constructed.

The EB-66C/E had left USAF service by 1973. One RB-66B is at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.


Douglas RB-66B Destroyer at the National Museum of the U. S. Air Force.
(U.S. Air Force photo)
Sources:
Wikipedia: B-66 Destroyer
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